The Washington Capitals re-acquired Lars Eller from the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night, bringing him back into the fold after years away from the team.
Eller becomes the second member of the 2018 Stanley Cup-winning roster to return to the Caps this fall after Jakub Vrana signed last month. Players who were teammates with Eller the first time around can hardly wait for the reunion.
“It’s like seeing a friend that you haven’t seen in a few years,” Wilson said Wednesday morning. “You go through a lot together as a teammate, as a team. You win a championship and that’s a bond you’ll always have. So when someone like that comes back to what feels like where they belong, it’s always exciting.
“We’ll catch up when he gets here, but [I talked to him Tuesday] to say we’re excited and he was saying he’s excited to be a part of what looks like something good going on here.”
Over parts of seven seasons in Washington, Eller played 488 games for the Capitals, scoring 208 points (87g, 121a) in that span. But Eller’s biggest moment for the Capitals came in Game 5 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final when he scored the championship-winning goal on Marc-Andre Fleury with 7:37 remaining to give the Caps a 4-3 lead they’d never relinquish.
“With him being here now, it almost feels like putting the pieces together,” Vrana added. “It’s obviously not the case, but, you know, with the circumstance to go this way, it’s pretty crazy to see all the boys again.”
Below are Wilson and Vrana’s full comments about Eller’s return to DC after the Capitals concluded their morning skate Wednesday.
Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Tom Wilson
Q. What do you make of Lars Eller being back?
Tom Wilson: Obviously a close friend and teammate. Been through a lot together here and it’s always exciting when you can kind of reconnect down the line in hockey. He’s obviously a bit of a legend here and it’s going to be fun to have him back in the mix.
Q. What was it like facing him with the Pittsburgh Penguins a week ago?
Tom Wilson: Yeah, I could have finished my check on him a few times but gave him the benefit of the doubt. But he’s a good player. He’s been around a long time. He’s got high experience, high IQ out there, really hard on the puck, good defensively. I think he’s a guy that will fit in well. We’ve got a team that’s coming together here quick and working hard and I think he’ll fit in. Can’t hurt to have more experience in a guy like him in your locker room.
Q. This move shows a lot of faith in the current team from management.
Tom Wilson: Yeah, I think they’ve seen some good things. Obviously it’s early. You can’t take away what we’ve done to this point. You want to collect your wins early in the year, but I think just seeing an opportunity to add something to the group that, you never know, can help you earlier in the season, doesn’t have to be last minute at the deadline or whatever.
Q. After winning a championship together, what was it like to see him playing for the rival Penguins?
Tom Wilson: Yeah, I think it was always — when you go through so much as a teammate with somebody and then you see him in another uniform, it’s always strange. It’s weird. It just doesn’t look right. So I think he’ll look better back in the Caps uniform.
Q. The Capitals saved his number 20.
Tom Wilson: Yeah, there you go. It’ll be fun to have him back.
Q. Have you talked to him yet?
Tom Wilson: Yeah, I talked to him yesterday a little bit. I think for now it’s just kind of excitement. It’s like seeing a friend that you haven’t seen in a few years. You go through a lot together as a teammate, as a team. You win a championship and that’s a bond you’ll always have. So when someone like that comes back to what feels like where they belong, it’s always exciting. We’ll catch up when he gets here, but just reaching out to say we’re excited and he was saying he’s excited to be a part of what looks like something good going on here.
Q. Do these good vibes help the team?
Tom Wilson: Yeah, he’s a guy, I mean, a thousand games in the league, scored a bunch of big goals, played in big games. I think when you bring a guy of that experience back, it can only help things. And he’s a guy that I know, I’ve played with. He’s an amazing teammate, very positive guy. And he’s not a guy that would ever take away from anything that’s going on vibe-wise. He’s only going to add to the mix and bring an element of experience and hockey IQ and stuff like that.
Q. Vrana’s back, Eller’s back, Holtby and DSP are nearby. Much of that championship team is back.
Tom Wilson: I think when you talk about vibes, it’s always nice to have those guys back around. We’ve been through a lot of really fun things together. They’re champions, and they’re champions for a reason. So whenever you can keep that caliber of person and player around, I think it’s something that teams look to do, to try and go out and find that. Lars is a great guy, getting the band back together a little bit here, with an element of a lot of new faces that are bringing an extremely strong element and identity to our group as well.
Jakub Vrana
Q. Have you talked to Lars?
Jakub Vrana: I texted him last night, yeah. Just how he’s doing and it’s going to be great to see him.
Q. What does it mean to get somebody familiar back?
Jakub Vrana: Yeah, it helps a lot when you experience — when you have a player here that’s been here before. And he’s been in the league for a long time, so it’s going to definitely help. I’ve played with him before, so they kind of knew what to expect from us already. We have had a lot of success together, so it would be awesome to be on the same line with him again if that’s going to be the case; obviously, I can’t tell you right now, but we’ll see how it goes.
Q. Are memories flooding back from the championship season?
Jakub Vrana: One hundred percent, yeah. With him being here now, it almost feels like putting the pieces together. It’s obviously not the case, but, you know, with the circumstance to go this way, it’s pretty crazy to see all the boys again.
Q. Does it show faith from management that they went out and bought a player?
Jakub Vrana: I don’t really know what’s going on up there, and honestly we see all the moves they do, but we don’t really — I don’t think we get focused on it. I don’t know if they plan to, like, I don’t think they’re trying to put the pieces back, you know what I mean? He’s a great player. He’s played in the league for years, and to have him back, he could be a great piece for this team. So yeah, yeah, we’re excited for him, and I texted him last night, so it’s going to be great to see him back.
Eller will not play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night as Hendrix Lapierre will slot back into the third-line center spot. But Eller is expected to do his first interview with Capitals media during the matchup since being re-acquired.
